Across the Grid

During the month of May, many graduating seniors opted to participate in “Learning for Life” courses offered at the high school in conjunction with the Shifra Hanon Pathfinders Department. One of these courses, Spreadsheet Bootcamp, was particularly popular – and practical. JBHS partnered with Tosa, an international organization that offers a universally recognized standard test for measuring spreadsheet skills.

“Spreadsheets are used in every career path as well as on a personal level. Expertise in using a spreadsheet is one of the most useful skills a student can graduate with,” explained JBHS STEM Coordinator Tziri Lamm.

Students used Google Sheets to analyze three years of data from a mock business account to see how spreadsheets can help users make predictions and recommendations. This young learners to chemistry and the scientific method by experimenting with the chemical reactions behind creating a fizzy reaction. In addition, participants also explored the kashrut behind Boba Tea and then engineered it themselves! Students learned how geometry can also be tasty as they created their own edible stained glass. exercise will be helpful at any internship or real-life job. Thirty students were certified earlier this year after taking a Data Analysis course with Ms. Lamm in the fall semester, and 12 more were recently certified.

CIJE returned this year with Drone Olympics and taught students how to use the program Scratch to code autonomous drones. Finally, the Songwriting/Recording workshop provided an opportunity for participants to showcase their musical talents, learn about music production, and record their own song using a Digital Audio Workstation.

Thank you to the Middle School faculty who came together to make ST2EM day an incredible experience.

The Dr. Albert Montague A”H STEM Institute is dedicated by Julie and Steven Montague.

Senior David Marcus, who is currently holding an internship at an e-bike rental service company, shared, “This is the single most useful skill that I have learned for my job. I am using it every day.”

All students begin the course with a pretest that establishes a baseline that can be used to track their growth. More than 70% of students began the course as Beginners and nearly 70% of them finished as Productive or Advanced — a jump of 2-3 levels, on average.